We visited St Augustine’s Church in Penarth last week. The church is set high up on the headland between Cardiff Bay and the Bristol Channel. Its prominent position means that it’s clearly visible for miles around.

I see the church almost every day but have never visited it before. It has stunning views back across the Bay towards the Pierhead building, Mermaid Quay and the city centre, and then on to the hills and mountains north of Cardiff.

The church is pretty impressive, though the graveyard needs a bit of love and attention.read more

We visited the Brecon Beacons National Park Visitor Centre today just south of Brecon. The centre gives you some background information on the National Park and best of all, as you can see, gives you a great view of Pen y Fan. Pen y Fan is the highest peak in South Wales (886 metres / 2,907 ft above sea-level).

The visitor centre also has some nice tea-rooms with seating outside which is great when it’s sunny – just watch out for the hungry sparrows and chaffinches which pester you for crumbs!

Plenty of car parking if you’re travelling by car though there is a small charge. You can find a location map below.

A walk across the Cardiff Bay Barrage is a great way to spend a few hours in Cardiff. If you’re in a car then access the barrage from the Penarth end where there’s a large carpark. If you’re on foot then either walk from the Cardiff Bay visitor centre near the Norwegian Church, or catch a boat across the Bay from Mermaid Quay near the National Assembly Senedd building.

There’s lots to see, there are 3 boat locks between the Bay and the sea that operate every 30 minutes. From the sea-ward side of the barrage there’s a great view in clear conditions across to Penarth pier, Flat Holm and Steep Holm and the English coast across the Severn. read more

The pumped river is about 250m long. It looks lots of fun, you can either try the kayaks or go white water rafting as a group. Each white water raft has a “captain” on board who ensures that everyone is safe. It’s not cheap, between £250 and £300 for 6 people but you’re on the water for about 2 hours which is about as long as most people can last for! It’s pretty tiring!! read more

Why the music industry is dying…a friend of mine Em made a great vid of her year in Paris. She added a backing track that was really apt for the vid. It’s a track that’s pretty cool.

I hosted the video on YouTube for Emma so her friends could see it. Emma has a lot of friends!

I just received a copyright notice for the vid because it has copyright music in it. So I’ve deleted it.

But when I originally saw the video I thought that’s a pretty cool song, so I tracked it down on iTunes and bought it, with real money. That’s a real sale because of Em using that track in her video.

Imagine if say only 5% of people who viewed the video thought the same and bought the track, that’s quite a few sales. But instead UMG would prefer to exert their legal copyright and stop Emma and me using their music to back her video.

So their copyright is protected, but you’ll never know what that great track is, and you’ll never buy it, and they’ll never get your £1.

With the opening of the new shopping centre in November 2009 it is now possible to shop totally under cover from Cardiff’s main shopping street Queen St. right through to the Cardiff Marriott Hotel on Mill Lane.

Building on Cardiff’s shopping arcade history the centrepiece is a large 2 storey glass-topped arcade that runs from Debenhams through to a massive new John Lewis store. read more

We’ve recently had a few days in Mumbles staying at the excellent Patrick’s With Rooms hotel. Mumbles is a great place to visit – it’s right on the seafront with fantastic views right round Swansea Bay. You can promenade around the Bay for several miles if you wish.

Mumbles Village is great for just spending a few hours – it has lots of little shops, quite a few pubs and great cafés and restaurants. There’s a good children’s playground and crazy golf (just opposite Patrick’s) and the kids will love the beach at Bracelet Bay and rock-pools when the tide is out. Note: when the tide is in there’s no beach at all and be warned – the tide comes in quickly here. Check the tides here before you visit. read more

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